Toronto Food Tour: The Anthony Rose Edition
A few weeks ago, my cousin and two friends from my (now-defunct) social bubble decided to try and check off one of the items from my fall bucket list - eating the fried chicken sandwich from Rose & Sons. This particular item was formulated after seeing a mouth-wateringly delicious Instagram post (pictured below) from Anthony Rose, one of Toronto’s top chefs and the proprietor of Rose & Sons.
That idea evolved from a one-stop shop to a patio crawl of sorts to each of Rose’s restaurants along Dupont Street. Those restaurants include Fat Pasha and Fet Zun (two Middle Eastern spots), Madame Boeuf (an outdoor burger joint), Big Crow (inspired by Muskokan campfire fare), and Rose & Sons. Rose also owns Schmaltz Appetizing, a bagel and fish hotspot, for your smoked salmon needs, but we decided to hold off on adding breakfast to the menu for the day. Unfortunately, turns out that the catalyst for our adventure, Rose & Sons is actually closed due to COVID. But we had an extensive list already so it was for the best (for our jean waistbands at least)!
The crawl kicked off at Madame Boeuf, which opened the earliest of the restaurants on the docket. As we walked in, I noticed Rose himself was working the barbecue, charring some eggplant for the vegetarian burger option on the open fire pit. I fan-girled a bit… the chef scene is so fascinating to me. They’re comparable to rockstars or celebrities in my mind - Netflix specials, book deals, drug addictions. Some oof them are now iconoclast, synonymous with adventure and arbiters of the cultural, political, social impacts of a simple meal. But the truth is, and what makes me appreciate them all the more, is that it takes a tireless person to commit to a lifetime of being a restauranteur, let alone a chef. It’s long hours, physically gruelling, and requires a tough skin for those nasty customers or nitpicky critics. Chefs are some of the most psychologically resilient and fascinating people I know. All that to say, I was excited we got to meet Anthony Rose and chat for a few moments when we first sat down. I excitedly told him our plan for the day, which he was very gracious upon hearing - “wow, that’s so sweet of you girls, what’s the occasion?” There was none - just looking for a little adventure to brighten the beginning of 2020’s descent into fall.
At Madame Boeuf we started simple, splitting a cheeseburger and Banquet Burger (cheeseburger + bacon). Verdict? One of the best burgers in the city… and I’ve had quite a few. Truthfully, I’m not hard to impress when it comes to burgers - a good bun (milk or brioche preferably) and juicy patty is really all it takes. However, the smokiness from the barbecue was the game changer for this one.
Next up, we headed around front from Madame Boeuf to Fet Zun. This is the newest of Rose’s restaurants, taking over the space where his popular French bistro, Bar Begonia sat until January of last year. Fet Zun has all the shareable mezze dips and dishes you would expect of an Israeli restaurant. As we were pacing ourselves, we opted for just some olives, pickles, saffron rice and a ginger-lemonade cocktail. While at Fet Zun, Anthony popped around again, this time with his phone in hand, facetiming the restaurant manager at our next stop, Big Crow, to ensure she locked down a table for us. I know this normally would never happen because he would be so busy so it was such a fun little bonus to the day to get to sit and chat with the guy who created all the awesome meals and atmospheres that we were getting to enjoy.
About two minutes of walking later and we made it to Big Crow. This has long been one of my favourite spots in the city. The ambiance is so relaxed, cozy and inviting. The “shed,” a covered wooden gazebo shelters three rows of communal picnic tables, draped with cow hides and other Northern paraphernalia. The cooking takes place overtop of wood fired grills, both heating the patrons and making the room smell like campfire (I know most people have an aversion but this is one of my favourite scents ever). This is really where we set up shop for the night - we ordered caesar salad, garlic bread, chimichurri ribs, and salmon poke nachos. Oh and several rounds of drinks, as we settled in.
A short jaunt later and we made it to our final location - Fat Pasha. I had also been to Fat Pasha before and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The food is incredible and I would 1000% recommend the salatim platter if you haven’t already had 3 meals that evening. Instead, we opted for the dip trio, another drink, and capped our night with dessert - Israeli cheesecake (one of the top items of the night for sure) and the 1lb smartie cookie.
The day was really special, one of my favourite in a while. It reminded me how nice it is to share good food with good people, and about how important little adventures are. Especially right now, while the big ones aren’t necessarily in the cards. And it made me think about how lucky we are to have such amazing chefs and fantastic restaurants in this city to enjoy - during this time, I hope we can all try our best to support them in some way, whether it be ordering in, buying a giftcard for a friend’s birthday, or checking out a heated patio while they’re still open for the year.
